The Last Rose Standing
by pavinet
Summary: After Dimitri's betrayal, Rose disappears. Almost six months later, they reunite. However, Rose is different. Destroyed by heartache and loss, Rose is running from her problems, leaving Dimitri the only one who can save her. But how do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved?
1. Prologue: Already Gone

**A/N- Hey everyone! This is my attempt at a VA fanfic. Just a warning, this is a Harry Potter and Vampire Academy crossover so as a disclaimer, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING. A few things you should know before you read this story.**

**I am a terribly lazy person with a crapload of work even on summer vacation. My updates will not be regular but I will attempt to keep a steady pace. I never claimed to be perfect and I will never say anything that suggests that so don't hound me about updates. I will do the best I can to keep this story going. Bad reviews for me are serious downers. If you don't have anything nice to say, figure out a better way to say it. I'm not asking you to read this story. The last story I wrote, somebody accused me of plagiarism which I didn't do. If they just looked at the publish date they would have seen that mine was published first. I don't care if you use my ideas, I only care if you plagiarise. Finally, as you may have noted, I have a penchant for word vomit so my author's notes will be very long and wordy, like this one! **

**Each chapter is named after the song I thought fit it best. If you want to get in the mood, listen to the song. Well, that's it. Enjoy the story!**

**Summary: After Dimitri's betrayal, Rose disappears. Almost six months later, they reunite. However, Rose is different. Destroyed by heartache and loss, Rose is running from her problems. But how do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved?**

* * *

_I want you to know_

_We couldn't have left it better_

_But I want you to move on_

_So I'm already gone_

**Already Gone-Kelly Clarkson**

**To Everyone:**

By the time you find this I will be gone. Don't try looking for me. I need to do this, need this separation. If I'm alive by the end of this, I swear I'll try to find you guys. I 'm not denying that what I'm doing is dangerous but it has to be done. Liss, Eddie, Christian: Please don't try to find me; I don't want you getting hurt.

**TO LISSA**: I know you're mad. Hell, you're probably cussing me out in your head with words I never knew you knew existed. I'm really sorry for leaving you like this, and even more so for not telling you anything; but trust me; one day you'll understand. I'd say more but I know you too well to think you'd actually care. So I guess this is goodbye. Stay safe for me okay? Goodbye Lissa. You're the best sister anyone could ask for…I love you.

**TO EDDIE**: I think I can safely say that you are beyond pissed at me. Maybe you think I'm a coward, running away from my problems but that isn't what this is about. You've been the best brother a girl could wish for. Do me a favor and take care of Lissa. Make sure she doesn't fall into another depression again. I'm counting on you…Goodbye Eddie.

**TO CHRISTIAN**: Take care of Lissa for me pyro...you're all she has now.

**TO ADRIAN**: Some people say that opposites attract. Those people are idiots. The day we met, I thought you were a stupid drunk stuck up Moroi player. Then you became a dream-stalking smoking drunkard. And when Dimitri was turned, you became my plane ticket to Russia, on the conditions that I give you a chance and date you. And so I did. But as I opened up, I saw a side of you, you rarely let anyone see, even Lissa, who saw the good in everyone, failed to notice. But we were never meant to be. You've always seen yourself as a victim…and I guess that in a way you are. But the two of us existed in completely different spheres that were never meant to touch. Both of had opinions but I was the one who voiced them. Both of us were survivors of completely different kinds. I went down fighting and emerged victorious as the morning sun rose. You were the guy who preferred to stand on the sidelines and out of people's way, staying a survivor because no one thought you important enough to kill. But you've always been important to me Adrian, and you always will be. But I am the sun with its blazing hot fire and dazzling beauty while you are the moon with its subtle glow and command of the night sky and the stars. We coexist together but never fully touch. I love you Adrian. Always have, always will. But I just can't like you anymore. This isn't working so I'm leaving.

**TO DIMITRI: **All good things must come to an end. It's a fact of life. And I guess you decided that it was time for us to end too. I've tried, but even I know when to take a hint. So here are my last words to you…

You made your opinions clear so it's time for me to move on. I love you Dimitri, regardless of what you think you did, I just wish you could see it. Then again you probably can, considering you no longer love me. But don't think you drove me off. I want to go for reasons that have nothing to do with you. The least you can do is make sure Lissa is safe. Of course, that shouldn't be a problem considering that she's your world now. Goodbye Dimitri.

I love you.

* * *

**Rose POV**

The darkness suddenly took form as a shape stepped out from the shadows.

"Ready to go?" He asked. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and stood up off the ground.

"Never been more ready in my life," I said as we turned away from the court. Already I could hear the frantic shouts calling my name, Lissa's metal pleading, begging me to return.

I didn't look back.

_**They say when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. But if life gives you nothing what do you do? So I'll keep running till I find that lemon tree.**_

* * *

** For those of you who are confused, the above is a letter to Rose's friends as her goodbye. Looks like Rose is on her way to the rest of this story. The next chapter will start six months later so the pace will speed up but Rose just needed to get this out even if it was in a letter. Please read and review, I want to know what you think!  
**


	2. Bring Me Back to Life

**A/N-Okay, so this is where the HP stuff starts to come into play but the story is mostly focused on the relationship between Rose and Dimitri. Again, I own nothing.**

* * *

_Now that I know what I'm without  
You can't just leave me  
Breathe into me and make me real  
Bring me to lif_e**  
Bring Me Back to Life- Evanescence**

"I swear, if we get through this journey alive and dry, I am going to kill you Lissa!"

Eddie glanced amused at Mia who was currently fighting off a cobweb that had attached itself to his shoulder.

"Oooh! Was that a threat on her highness' life? Should I be worried, Mia?" Eddie teased. Mia scowled.

"Oh, shut up!" Eddie leaned over.

"Make me," he said, poking her stomach. Mia squealed and swatted his shoulder, causing Eddie to sway unsteadily on his horse.

"Knock it off you two! We're here for a reason. Even Rose would've been…" Lissa voice wavered and she stopped all together. Eddie rode up to match her pace as Dimitri held back slightly. Alberta was still ahead with Stan leading the group.

"We know" Eddie said putting his hand on Lissa's shoulder. The grief of losing Rose weighed on all of them as heavy as the dense fog they were currently struggling through. Shortly after the anger wore off, the true sense of loss set in. A month later, Eddie confessed his love for Mia and the two of them became a couple.

Adrian took her loss hard; getting dumped through a letter is never a nice way to break up. But he too found love when he met Sydney, the spirited young alchemist who knew Rose from Russia. She was away on her job but Adrian still missed her. Lissa and Dimitri never recovered. Lissa had Christian to help her through it, but while Christian felt the loss of a friend, Lissa lost the one person who knew herself better than anyone else ever would. Dimitri refused all offers of help. He became even more cut-off, convincing himself that he was the reason Rose had left. Nobody else knew what that letter had said but they knew it was bad. Very few things could bring Dimitri to tears.

* * *

"Shut up, we'll be spotted"

"Oh relax, we'll just Avada them and be on our way"

"Maybe, but don't you think the muggles will notice if a bunch of bodies appear dead with no cause visible"

"We'll just Avada them too"

"Oh yeah, cause that'll fix the problem"

"So! We'll kill the whole world if we need to. The point is we need to get this done. You got the portkey set up. I think we're done with this little detour."

"Yes. It'll suck anyone within 30 feet towards it and dump them off at their destination without setting off the caterwauling charm"

"Great! Let get outta here"

**Crack**

* * *

"Hey, guys? Is it just me or does something feel weird to you?" Adrian asked as his horse lurched again. Lissa looked back and laughed.

"Don't be stupid. There's nothing to be scared…" Lissa never got to finish her sentence. Her stomach gave a sudden jerk and she found herself flying through the air with everyone else. She landed in the mud, hand stuck to a necklace. She lifted her hand and the necklace came with it. After trying to shake it off in vain, she brought her other hand up and peeled it off her skin. It came away easily but was now stuck to her other hand. All around her, people were having the same issue.

"This is not good" was her last thought before her world blended away into a swirl of color.

* * *

Somewhere in the Russian woods…

"Ow… you couldn't have made the landing softer?"

"The pain was a lesson"

"Translation: I forgot to."

"Shut up and hand me the portkey"

"Wait…I thought you had it?"

"Nooo…you did"

"Awww, fu-dge. Yeah, fudge. That's what I said."

"We are soo screwed"

* * *

**Please Read and Review. I promise it gets better in the following chapters.**


	3. What the Hell

**A/N- Sorry that there's no song for this chapter. I just didn't know one that fit so if you have any ideas tell me. So this along with the next chapter should be the most crossed-over part of the story. After that it pretty much drops into nothingness. If you haven't noticed, I like to make up words a lot but they won't be in my stories. Enjoy! Oh and before I forget! I own nothing since some of the conversation is copied from the book itself at this point.  
**

* * *

**What the Hell**

A loud cacophony of sounds surrounded the group as they rose into the air spinning in a circle. _"Kinda like a whirlpool"_ Lissa thought as she held on. Splotches of color rushed past blending into the white light ahead. Wind blasted their faces as the necklace jerked again.

"What's going on?" Adrian yelled as he tried in vain to unstick his hand. Even Dimitri's emotionless mask had been replaced by pure panic. They were pulled closer and closer into the light until…

**Thud**

"Oww" Adrian whined rubbing his side. All around him, the group got up rubbing their various aches. Falling out of the sky is never pleasant at the best of times but when one is completely unprepared it is rather painful. However, falling out of the sky into a completely foreign area with no one to guide you is quite potentially dangerous. Moreover, when one falls into an area in the middle of a war, it is best to leave the area right away.

Hogmeade was once a lively village but now it only vaguely resembled that. Dementors prowled its every street corner, Death eaters lurked in all shops, and the residents of the village were too afraid to even step foot outside. Unfortunately, it was this unlucky village that Moroi and Dhampirs had fallen into which really sucked for them.

"Hurry, in here!" A voice broke out of the silence. Heads turned towards the noise but the source stayed hidden. The voice repeated the command one more time and when no one answered, Adrian vanished into thin air. The Damphirs leapt up ready to fight, their stakes having fallen of somewhere along the journey. The next to go was Lissa. Mia vanished next followed by Eddie. The remaining people looked at each other in shock. Then Stan was gone. Dimitri glanced at Alberta then took a step back. Suddenly, Alberta disappeared. Dimitri turned rapidly around staring at the spot she had been a minute ago feeling more alone than ever. Then a hand wrapped around his neck and he was falling down into the darkness that awaited him.

* * *

Adrian was the first to wake. He blinked rapidly then sat up and stretched. Lissa shifted next to him then rolled over, her eyes open.

"Hey," she said. Adrian frowned.

"Where do you think we are?" he asked. Lissa shrugged but before she could answer as large man walked in and glanced at them with approval.

"Oh good, you're awake," He said. Lissa blinked in shock. All around, her friends were waking up and stretching out their stiff limbs. Eddie looked hard at the man and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, the man shook his head.

"I can't help you, but I know someone who can." The man turned to a painting on the wall that Lissa had not noticed before.

"You know what to do." To Lissa's shock, the girl in the painting smiled and turned around walking up the gray path winding its way up a hill. She eventually vanished into the darkness at the top. A minute later, she returned, this time with another boy whose face was hidden in the shadows. She came closer and closer till suddenly the frame itself swung open and revealed the doorway behind. A large, round faced forgetful boy clambered out of the portrait looking questioningly at the man, who was currently brewing tea.

"What is it Alberforth?" he asked. Alberforth looked up.

"Strangers, Neville. Muggles by the looks of it. They just randomly fell in with a portkey that the death eaters set up. It's not safe 'ere so you'll have to take em to the room 'o requirement. In any case, I can't deal with any more guests. I'm busy enough as it is with you lot, don't need another bunch o' kids walking in. I didn't ask fo' this but noo, no one gives me a choice, do they? It's…" Alberforth trailed off muttering to himself.

Neville looked at Lissa. "Well, come along then!"

* * *

"Where exactly are you taking us?" Eddie yelled down the tunnel. Just then, the tunnel opened up into a wide space with a veil drawn across the opening. Neville shoved aside the veil and jumped down onto the platform that was placed right below him. One by one, the rest of the group jumped down and then stared in awe at their surroundings. Bursts of color jumped out of every corner, where teenagers lay talking and yelling. A few looked up and waved to Neville as he passed before returning to their previous activity. Neville weaved through the crowd before plopping down in a chair next to the wall. He turned and grinned at the Moroi and Dhampirs, who stood huddle together warily.

"Welcome, you lot, to Hogwarts' school of witchcraft and wizardry!"

Christian blinked. He opened his mouth a few times then closed it again. Then he shook his head as if it would somehow make this scene disappear. Finally he opted for a snort and a look of disbelief. Neville sighed.

"You don't believe me." He said like a statement, as if he were resigned to the fact. Then he shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to prove it to you."

Neville pulled out a stick, ornately carved, and whispered something. A stream of fire shot out of it and hit the opposite wall. A few kids turned to look at it, then shrugged and returned to what they were doing. Christian gave his signature Oreza smirk and rolled his eyes. Shooting fire didn't make you a wizard. Wasn't he already living proof of that?

Neville saw the unimpressed faces of his audience and racked his brains for another spell. What had Rose told him about Moroi? They were good vampires who didn't kill their victims. They had pale skin. They had…Control over elements! That was it. No wonder the fire hadn't fazed them. He waved his wand once more, this time using a nonverbal spell. The chair in front of him rose a few inches and held for a minute before clattering back to the ground. One of the legs snapped off and the chair tumbled to the ground. He fixed it with a simple _Reparo _then turned around to face the Vampires. They all stood awestruck by the living proof that Neville was a wizard. _"Now that's more like it,"_ He thought.

Eddie let out a shaky breath. Beside him, Lissa was still taking deep breaths to calm herself down; Christian had his arms around her shoulders. Alberta and Stan stood spellbound by the magic before them, their usually expressionless faces giving in to temptation. Only Dimitri remained unmoved, but he too was impressed.

"Holy Sh*t!" Adrian, as usual, had resorted to cussing, his only way of showing emotion. A hand came up to smack the back off his head.

"Language Adrian," Mia chided. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"No. Why, you offering?" He asked. Mia rolled her eyes.

"I'd rather kiss Stan." She said squealing.

"Come on, I know how to please a woman." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Then please leave me alone! God, Adrian. Don't you have a girlfriend?" Mia asked. Adrian and Sydney had gotten together a few months back but she was off traveling with Jill as part of the plan to keep Jill away from the court.

Over by the newly fixed chair, the teachers were talking worriedly to Neville.

"This looks like you're getting ready for a war. Why all the preparations?" Dimitri asked worriedly. If there really was a war, they would have to leave. The princess could get hurt and nothing was more important than her safety. Well, nothing except…No! He couldn't allow himself to think of her. The way he had managed to screw up the one good thing in his life still haunted him. He shook his head and zoned back in on the story Neville was telling.

"…We're really just hoping that at some point the Potters show up, that'll mean it's time to fight back. We've got loads of people who've told us to tell them if the battle starts. I reckon we've got twice the amount of people camped out here."

"But what is this war for?" Alberta asked as she analyzed her surroundings. Neville gave a hollow laugh.

"It's a long story really and none too pretty. There once was a wizard who went as far bad as you can go. His birth name was Tom Riddle but he changed it to Voldemort once he got really started. Anyway, he began to gather followers, all purebloods…"

"Purebloods?" Dimitri cut in. Neville looked around at his audience. The teenagers had also joined him.

"All wizards are born wizards. Eventually, your magic starts to show itself in strange ways. For some it's just a matter of levitating snacks down from the forbidden shelf or switching the TV on from far away. This is called accidental magic because the young wizard cannot control it. Wizard parents know what to expect and the accidental magic in wizard families is more flamboyant because of the lack of secrecy. In muggle (human) families, the magic is a lot more subtle and the concerned parents just brush it off as coincidences.

Then when a child turns eleven, they receive their Hogwarts letter that tells them they will be going to Hogwarts. In muggle families this letter serves a dual purpose of letting the child know of their magic and is usually delivered by a professor. Wizards who have muggle parents are known as muggleborns while wizards of wizard parents are known as purebloods. Purebloods are big on keeping their bloodline free of muggleborns; they take pride in their history and spread this concept of pureblood mania. They've convinced themselves that muggleborns are beneath them and of lesser blood. Naturally this mania leads to a lot of inbreeding so these ancient pureblood families rarely have more than one child.

Voldemort gained his supporters through this mania and they want to wipe out all muggleborns. Eighteen years ago, he attempted to kill yet another family who defied him and he almost succeeded. When he got their daughter he couldn't. Voldemort vanished of the face of the earth making the little girl famous. Now that Voldemort's back, Potter is the only one who can defeat him so, needless to say, she at the top of his hit list. She's on the run but when she returns…We fight."

He said that last sentence with such solemn conviction that Christian almost believed they had a chance. Then he mentally shook his head and snorted. That was the problem with fights between bad and good. Evil wasn't afraid to kill. In the meantime Neville had turned around and was talking to an Irish boy. He glanced one more time at the Moroi then, promising he'd be back, he ran over to the opening they had walked through a few minutes ago. Christian turned to Lissa who was stick in slight shock.

"So…pretty cool, Huh?" He asked her. Lissa frowned.

"Yeah…It's just…I wish Rose were here. She would have loved this. She was always talking about how there might be more magic out there in the world."**[A/N- See what I did there ;)] **Lissa got a faraway look in her eyes that filled with tears as soon as she returned to reality.

"Lissa?" Christian said softly. Lissa fell into his embrace sobbing into his shirt.

"I don't get it. Why'd she have to go? She promised she'd never leave me again." Lissa cried, her voice muffled Christian's T-shirt.

"I don't know, sweetie." Christian said, gently patting Lissa's back. He loked up at the ceiling, "Rose, if you're out there, I swear I am going to kill you when you get back."

Just then the door in the wall swung open again as Neville stepped out.

"Hey everyone! I have a surprise for you!" He called out, "The 'Chosen One' has decided to grace us with her presence!"

"Oh please Neville, you flatter me. But I must admit, I am pretty great," said a strikingly familiar voice. A figure came into view as she turned to look behind her with a laugh. As she swiveled back around, Dimitri glanced at her face then her eyes; that shade of chocolate brown he could never forget. It made no sense but there was no denying it. That laugh, those eyes, that silky long hair. Ah that hair, he'd never really forgotten her obsession with it. The memory took a hold of him as he stood in shock.

"_But what if I don't want to cut my hair?"_

_He glanced at the long brown locks suddenly overcome by an urge to reach out and touch them. His muscles stiffened in an effort to keep control. One lone hand broke the ranks as it reached out to stroke her hair. He twined his fingers in it, breathing in its scent before his brain caught up to him. Horrified at his loss of control, he dropped the strands and took a few steps back and turned away a smile playing on his lips._

"_Wear it up."_

All around him, the others gasped at the sight of such a familiar face. Neville turned back to the gathering crowd.

"I give you Rosemarie Lily Potter!"

As the crowd went wild, the Moroi and Dhampirs had only one synchronized thought running through the midst of shock.

"_**Rose?"**_

* * *

**Oooh! And cue loud-who didn't see that coming-gasp from readers! No really though, who didn't see that coming? Can we get a show of hands? No? Alright then, I'm going on a two week vacation so there won't be any updates so don't complain to me about that. Just get over it because this is a vacation! I want to have fun, no type all day at a computer to bring you more stories. You don't like it? I don't care. Get over yourself and get used to it. The next chapter will be good, don't worry. At least, I hope it will be good. There's definitely more drama though. Until next time-See ya!**


	4. For the First Time

**A/N- A lot of this chapter's dialogue is taken almost directly from the book because nobody does it better then J.K Rowling. I own nothing in this chapter 'cept well, the ideas but I would love to own the following song. Sorry about the slow updates, but I am a lazy, lazy person by nature. It took me a year to convince myself that writing this story was worth my time. I swear that could be a disease, Chronic Laziness Disorder. That and I also suffer from a lack of brain filtering so I can't stop talking. And now…*realizes that I'm still talking* On with the story.**

_We're smiling but we're close to tears_

_Even after all these years_

_We just now got the feeling that we're meeting _

_For the first time_

_**For the First Time—The Script**_

"What the hell?" Christian blurted. Above them, Rose waved to the eager crowd who was going crazy; their last hope for victory had arrived.

"Where are we?" Rose asked, her forehead wrinkling in confusion

"Room of Requirement, of course!" said Neville. "Surpassed itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me, and I knew I had just one chance for a hideout: I managed to get through the door and this is what I found! Well, it wasn't exactly like this when I arrived, it was loads smaller, there was only one hammock and just Gryffindor hangings. But it's expanded as more and more of the D.A. have arrived."

"It's a proper hideout, as long as one of us stays in here, they can't get at us, the door won't open. It's all down to Neville. He really gets this room. You've got to ask for exactly what you need – like, "I don't want any Carrow supporters to be able to get in' – and it'll do it for you! You've just got to make sure you close the loopholes. Neville's the man!" Said Irish boy, Seamus.

"It's quite straightforward, really," said Neville modestly. "I'd been in here about a day and a half, and getting really hungry, and wishing I could get something to eat, and that's when the passage to Hog's Head opened up. I went through it and met Aberforth. He's been providing us with food, because for some reason, that's the one thing the room doesn't really do."

"Yeah, well, food's one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration," said the red haired boy.

"Tell us what you've been up to, though," said Ernie. "There've been so many rumors; we've been trying to keep up with you on Potterwatch." He pointed at the wireless. "You didn't break into Gringotts?"

Lissa turned to Christian. He shrugged.

"They did!" said Neville. "And the dragon's true too!"

There was a smattering of applause and a few whoops; Rose took a bow.

"Dragon? Damn, Rose has been busy." Adrian whistled lowly, impressed.

"What were you after?" asked Seamus eagerly. Rose smiled brightly.

*"Fame, Glory. Remember, I'm an attention seeking little git." Christian didn't get the joke but the crowd around him defiantly did as they broke out into laughter. As the crowd began to talk amongst themselves, Rose seemed to zone out with that blank look Christian recognized. He'd seen it before when she's attempted to reach Lissa's mind. Suddenly Neville nudged her and she seemed to spring back to life.

"What are we going to do, then, Harry?" asked Seamus. "What's the plan?"

"Plan?" repeated Rose. She smiled again. "You know me, Seamus. When have I ever had a plan?"

The boy acknowledged her comment with a nod and then broke out into a smile. "So what's the crazy wild scheme you will come up with at the last moment?"

"We – we can't tell you. We've got to do it – alone." Rose said, her forehead crinkling.

"Why? We can help you. We're his army," said Neville. "Dumbledore's Army. We were all in it together, we've been keeping it going while you three have been off on your own –"

"It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate," said Ron.

"I never said it had, but I don't see why you can't trust us. Everyone in this room's been fighting and they've been driven in here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in here's proven they're loyal to Dumbledore – loyal to you."

"Look Neville, I never said weren't going down without a fight." Rose said her eyes blazing. "I am not going to stand aside as Voldemort ruins the only home I've ever known."

Lissa felt a stab of pain. Rose's home was at the court, with Dimitri and Christian and Adrian and her. What had driven Rose so far away she no longer considered her home with Lissa? Speaking of which, hadn't Neville called Rose Potter? What other secrets had Rose been hiding?

"if you're going to get anywhere in this place, you're going to need a disguise. The Carrows have death eaters posted anywhere. Outside here, you're not safe." Neville was telling Rose.

"Oh, because I was so safe before," said Rose with a laugh. She frowned, "I see your point though."

Rose walked over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. She glanced back at Harry and raised an eyebrow. Then something amazing happened. The long brown hair shrunk a couple inches and turned blond. A few seconds later, pink highlights ran down a few strands. The button nose, so like Mia's, grew long and slightly pointier. Her mouth grew wider and she shrunk a few inches. She turned to face the crowd and Lissa blinked. Staring back at her was an exact copy (minus the pink highlights) of Camille Conta. The lookalike smiled.

"Now let's get started, shall we?" she said in Rose's voice.

Adrian opened his mouth trying to make a coherent sound but all that came out was a disjoined humming sound. Christian seemed to be doing the same thing. While Rose began barking orders to everyone, the mpd **(A/N-Moroi plus Dhampirs, I would have said Moroi and Dhampirs but that would have made the acronym MAD and I thought that might offend some people)** just stood there trying connect this image to the Rose they had known for most of their life.

Rose was still up there. They seemed to be having some conversation about a diadem. Then she and the others stood up and left with the rest of the D.A. following her.

* * *

_**In another part of the castle….10 minutes ago…**_

Death was inevitable. Rose knew that, she had seen too much death to not consider the possibility that she might die today. Even so, she never imagined it like this. Had Dumbledore ever hinted at this? Had every word out of that old man's mouth been a lie? Snape's love for Lily was no surprise, she had seen that his worst memory. She resembled her mother too much for him to ever come to like her. They even had similar names; Lily had named her daughter after a flower like the rest of her family. But if she was destined to die, why hadn't she been allowed to earlier. Could Cedric have been saved? Rose guessed she'd never know. She sighed heavily and took a few steps in the direction of the forbidden forest. She'd been running from her destiny for far too long.

* * *

_**Fast-forward 10 minutes…**_

"Well…that was unexpected." Adrian said. Lissa snorted through her tears.

"Ya' think? We finally find Rose and it turns out she's the leader of some magical rebellion and she has freaky magical powers. Why didn't she ever tell me any of this?" Christian sighed and put his arms around her shoulders.

"To be fair, it's not exactly something that comes up in the conversation," He pointed out.

"I know but still, I'm supposed to be her best friend. How could she hide something as huge as this from me?" Lissa asked. A sudden uproar interrupted Christian's answer. Adrian's head snapped up.

"We'd better go check out what that is. If it's an invading army, at least we can blend in with the crowd." He said. Everyone else had no objections so they trooped outside and followed the flow of people to the great hall. When he got there, his mouth fell open in shock. Standing there face to face with the ugliest man Christian had ever seen was…Rose.

* * *

"-though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like and old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach?" Snakeface was saying.

Rose paused then snorted.

"Man, do you need to get laid!" An uproar of laughter followed this proclamation. Voldemort sneered.

"Enough jokes! If it is not love that will save you this time," said Voldemort, "you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"

"I believe both," Rose stated. Beside Christian, Lissa shifted.

"I don't get it. What's going on?" She asked. Dimitri turned to face her but Adrian beat her to the punch.

"I think, I'm not sure, that Rose is facing off with the bad guy here." He said. Mia rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for that, Captain Obvious." She glanced back up to the front where Rose and Voldemort were still talking while Adrian grinned at her. Suddenly, there was a great uproar and Christian looked up to see Rose standing with two wands in her hand as everyone rushed towards her. The Snakeface was nowhere to be seen. Christian felt a rush of relief followed by a feeling of foreboding. While he contemplated this, Rose made her disappearance for the second time that day. Being the only one who noticed this, Dimitri vanished soon after.

* * *

**Ooooh! Big confrontation comming up! I promise that Rose and Dimitri will talk in the next chapter. I can't promise that they'll make up becuase Rose is just too mad at him and too guarded for that to happen. And besides, what kind of story would that be anyway. Like I said earlier, there will be no more updates for two weeks so don't yell at me when your story alerts stop. It took me all night to bring you this chapter so you should be thankful I didn't leave you at that cliffie. That would have really suck although I'm not sure that this is much better. See ya!**


	5. Need You Now

**A/N-So…um…Hi! *dives behind giant wall* Please don't kill me. I know I left you at a cliffhanger and I would say I'm sorry for that but I'm not. For those of you who don't care, I had a great vacation. For those of you who were stuck at home this summer, yes, I'm rubbing this in your face. Again, sorry I didn't update but my brain was still on cloud nine bliss. The view was very pretty from up there. But I'm back now! Aaaaand….It's time for the big confrontation. Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews. I know I'm not really the easiest of authors to work with and the crossover is hard to follow but never fear! I'm here now! Complete with abuse of exclamation points! So first things first!**

**1. This is a Rose and Dimitri story. Rose is scared and guarded, you'll find out why later, but she is basically the "chosen one." I'll let you fill in the blanks on how exactly this happens but I'll provide a better explanation later. Janine is not her mom, once again, better explanation later.**

**2. At this point, she has defeated Voldemort but for those of you paying attention, something else is coming. Yes, those ominous sounding sections two chapters ago had a purpose. For those of you who have seen the movie, that happened right after the fire in the room of requirement. And that's all you really need to know.**

**3. I published a one-shot! My first ever! Go check it out! It's a VA, completely devoid of crossovers! It follows the story of Rose when she leaves to become a solo hunter after Spirit Bound. Three years later, she's basically lost all ability to feel emotions and Dimitri's drowning himself in regret. Read and please review!**

_And it's a quarter after one_

_I'm all alone and I need you now_

_Said I wouldn't come _

_but I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

**Need You Now by Lady Antebellum**

The rose glistened as the sun's rays glanced off its leaves. Beside it, a much different kind of rose sat morosely, watching the moon fade to oblivion. The old wooden swing, thoughtfully provided by a room that lived off of service, creaked in protest as it was forcibly swung back and forth. A gentle knock echoed off the vast ceiling. The knocker did not wait for an answer and the resounding slam of a door meeting the frame was heard.

"What do you want Dimitri?" The harsh question caused the Russian to flinch. He'd never hear his Roza sound so…caustic. But then again, he supposed, she wasn't his Roza anymore.

"I just wanted to talk." Rose blinked back tears then turned and glared.

"There's nothing to talk about. Just leave."

"That's where you're wrong. We have everything to talk about," He growled, "And I'm not leaving until we do."

"Please, Dimitri," Rose snorted, "Love fades, mine has. Get over it already. I know I have." The last part was a mumbled whisper but it still caused a pang in his heart knowing he had caused her so much pain. God, he really was a monster to have caused an angel to cry. He took a deep breath and shook his head to clear his thoughts. _"You thought it was for her own good. She needed to fulfill her dream,"_ He reminded herself.

"Well I haven't. And if you're honest to yourself, you'll know that you haven't either," He said. Rose's eyes flashed.

"You want to talk? Fine, let's talk! Let's talk about how you practically tore my heart to pieces and stomped on the remains. Let's talk about how you completely ignored the fact I was in love with you. Let's talk about how you picked _Princess Valissa_ over me! I know they come first Dimitri! I was raised on that! But don't you think that, for once, I deserve to come first?" Rose took a deep breath ready to say more but Dimitri cut her off.

"This has nothing to do with the princess but now that you've brought the subject to her, why don't we talk about that. Do you realize how upset she is that you didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth? How could you be so childish?" Rose's hands clenched into fists and her temper flared.

"SHUT UP! You of all people have no right to call me childish. You have no idea what I've been through. No fucking idea. I left because I had to; because the fate of the world was in my hands. You think this has been a picnic? Do you have any idea how many people tried to kill me? All because there was a remote possibility that I could be the one to kill their leader. And it wasn't like any of you made it easier. Do you know how many times I cried myself to sleep, how many times I wished that you cared? I would have given anything just for you to tell me you loved me one more time. And now, I finally get to see you again and all you can say is that I'm acting childish. I'm sorry, but you are no longer my teacher Guardian Belikov." With that, Rose finished her speech and glared at the imposing figure. Dimitri smiled wryly.

"Which means I have no problem doing this." With that, Dimitri grabbed Rose, leaned down and pressed his lips softly to hers. Rose immediately responded, pressing up against his body. It had been so long but it felt so right. He was like a drug her body needed and craved. She sank into his embrace seeking the comfort and relief she knew only he could bring. Their kisses got slowly more and more heated as desperately came up for air before diving back in. Dimitri's hand slid down to her shirt and played with her hem before sliding under. Rose felt like she had been doused with cold water. She jerked way wiping her mouth before glaring at Dimitri who wore a slightly smug expression.

"What the hell! Don't every kiss me without my permission again," She gritted out straitening her clothes.

"Don't kiss me back then," he replied, his face smug.

"Stop playing with my feelings. Is this some kind of game to you? See how far she bends before she breaks?" Rose demanded. Dimitri looked stricken.

"No! Rose, I love you. That day, in the church, I lied. I hated myself and you deserved better than be but I knew you'd never move on if you didn't hear that. I never stopped loving you. You have to believe me. Please!" Rose gaped, then blinked.

"You...you what? I can't believe…you selfish….how dare you…" She looked franticly for the exit. "I…I got to go…check on…stuff." She mumbled and ran out the room.

Dimitri sat down heavily and put his head in his arms.

"What did I just do?"

_**In another part of the castle….10 minutes ago…**_

_Tick. Bang. Tick. Bang._ The Grandfather clock on the wall of the room seemed permanently damaged beyond repair. The pendulum swung back and forth recklessly, unable to make the hands move, the sole survivor of the dreadful blaze that had swept through the room not too long ago. A small glimmer of light flashed, reflected of a piece of shattered glass. The door creaked, stirring up the ash on the floor. Someone coughed. The remains of a blackened and burnt tiara lay on the floor; the silent scream still lingering in the air along with the smell of burnt flesh. The corpse was nowhere to be found. She'd been here, he was sure of it. No one else could cause this magnitude of destruction. He had seen it first hand at the Malfoy Manor as the entire building collapsed into the very foundation after the Dark Lord's tantrum. Revenge was all that mattered to him now. _You can't hide forever, Rosemarie._

**A/N- Soooo….What do you think? Yeah, Rose is being stubborn. I wanted them to get together in this chapter but she didn't want to! Seriously, my brain may never be the same after the fit she threw. But there going to be some major Adrian and Rose bonding next chapter. *Gives girly squeal* Woot! I just love Adrian's ability to get drunk regardless of the situation. Read my other one shot if you liked this and tell me what you think. Or skip that and tell me what you think my pressing that button down there. **


	6. Someone Like You

**A/N- Hey! So I was reading my story the other day, don't mind that, it's just something authors tend to do, and I noticed the incredibly low amount of reviews this story has. I'm not going to be like other authors who won't post a chapter without a review but I will say that reviews are like doughnuts, they make me want to actually finish this story. SO REVIE!. And while you're at it, check out my other story and review there too. It needs some love because it ain't getting any from me right now. Like really people, it's not that hard. I review for the stories I read. Why can't you do the same for me? **

**Sorry about the rant, I just really want to know what people think about my stuff. How can I fix my writing if you won't help me do it. So anyway, this chappie has some major Adrian and Rose bonding, hence the song I picked. I really do think it fits. I felt like Adrian came off as a whiny bitch in the last book, standing in the way of true love and all that, but I think there's more to him than that. So this chapter will explore a different side of Rose and Adrian's relationship.**

* * *

_Never will I find someone like you_

_I wish nothing but the best for you_

_Don't forget me I beg_

_I remember you said_

_Sometimes it laughs in love but sometimes it hurts instead_

**Someone Like You- Adele**

How dare he! How dare he waltz back into her life as if nothing had happened and tell her that everything he said was a lie! As if she hadn't spent the last year trying to accept that he didn't love her. As she hadn't wondered time and time again what was wrong with her-why she wasn't good enough for him! But that didn't matter did it? No! It was all okay because he _lied_. Because that made it all better. And on top of that, he had the nerve to kiss her. He just assumed she'd fall back into his arms and act like nothing happened. That she'd kiss him back; throw herself at him first chance she had. Rose snorted. As if!

"_But that's exactly what you did, isn't it?"_ A nasty little voice in the back of her head said.

"_I didn't want to. I'm NOT taking him back!"_ She responded.

"_But you want to. You want to forgive him-have him love you again,"_ It replied.

"_I do not! Who the hell are you anyway and what makes you so sure you know me?"_ Rose asked. The voice responded in a manner as condescending as any voice could be.

"_I am you."_ Rose groaned.

"_What are you? My conscience or something like that cause I'm conflicted enough as it is and I don't need my goody two shoes side-"_

"_I'm not your conscience…I'm the rational side of your brain."_

"_I have a rational side?"_ Rose frowned, _"I could have sworn I got rid of that years ago-Ugh! What am I saying?" _

She snorted. "I'm arguing with myself-how crazy does this make me?"

"Not all that crazy. I do that all the time." Rose started and turned around. Adrian stood in the doorway, a sheepish grin on his face. Rose smiled through her tears.

"Isn't talking to yourself the first sign of madness?" She asked. Adrian shook his head.

"Nope, the first sign of madness is talking to inanimate objects." Rose laughed.

"Been there, done that. Guess I'm crazy then." Adrian smiled.

"Is that really such a bad thing?" He asked. Rose grinned.

"Who knows? Everybody needs a healthy dose of insanity in their lives." Adrian rolled his eyes.

"Maybe…But you've had an overdose," He said. Rose laughed quietly before reality cough up to her again. Her eyes filled with quiet tears as she remembered why she was here. Adrian reached up to brush away a tear.

"Hey, none of that. Be happy. After all, it is your night. Everyone here thinks you're a hero." Rose turned to face him.

"I just don't get it. I spent months mourning what we had, what we could have been. _Months_! Just wishing that he still loved me, that I could wake up and this would be some horrible dream and everything would be okay. And now I find out that he lied, that he never meant anything he said and I'm supposed to take him back. I think everybody expects me to take him back and I just don't get it. Who the hell does he think he is? He fucked with my life for over a year and wants me back. But I think there's something wrong with me too. I finally got what I wanted and I'm not taking it. And-"Rose broke off and stared down at her feet; suddenly conscious of who she was talking to.

"Relax Little Dhamphir," Adrian said reading her aura, "I'm over it. Really. I got what you meant about that stuff you said in my letter. Yeah, it took me a while, but don't worry, I'm over it." He punctuated his sentence with an easygoing grin. Rose smirked.

"Who is she?"

Adrian sighed. "Am I really that obvious?" At Rose's resulting grin he hastily continued, "Sydney."

Rose nodded, "The alchemist I worked with last winter. Nice," Rose's face turned melancholy, her words earnest, "Look Adrian, I'm really am sorry about the way I left things last spring. I had to go and I was too much of a coward to tell you to your face. I just-I'm glad you moved on. I'm happy for you…I really am. I hope she knows how lucky she is to have you. You really are one of a kind."

Adrian frowned, "Hey, I'm still your friend; I always will be even if things didn't work out between us. You know that I'm here for you, right?"

Rose sighed and then leaned into him.

"Always."

And as the sun rose, light flooded the room, capturing two silhouettes leaning against each other. Outside, the world moved on as the dead were buried and people both grieved and celebrated. It was a time of great triumph and bitter loss. But the two in the room went on unaffected, safe in their little bubble. The world could have burst into flames at that moment and stopped spinning on its axis.

They wouldn't have noticed.

* * *

**A/N-Soooo….What do you think! I really tried to emphasize the point that Adrian's always been there for Rose. He's really the only one who understands what she's going through because he's been with since Frostbite, being the only one in on the secret and all that. So REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! If you do I might update within the next two days! If not, then it may be a week or longer depending on how motivated I get. Yeah, this is me. Get used to it!**


	7. Grenade

**A/N- The plot is finally moving along and this goes for the double update coming up. So ummmm….enjoy and please review.**

* * *

'_Cause I would go through all this pain_

_Take a bullet straight through my brain_

_Yes I would die for you baby_

_But you won't do the same_

-Grenade by Bruno Mars

"Has anyone seen Rose? I can't find her anywhere." Dimitri asked as he walked into the room. Lissa looked up to face him with a look of sympathy. She didn't know how, but she could feel that he was in pain. Somehow, Rose had rejected his plea opting to run-something she did well. She shuddered. The creepy spirit intuition thing was getting on her nerves. Sensing that Dimitri didn't want to talk, she simply shrugged before answering.

"To be fair Dimitri, Rose knows this castle better than you. If she wanted to hide, there's no way you could find her. Plus, she's also got that whole-'I can change my appearance at will' thing going on."

As she finished saying this, Rose waltzed in with Adrian in tow. Both looked exhausted. Rose grinned.

"I heard my name. What do you—ooh are those doughnuts?" She squealed and ran towards the buffet table and grabbed the entire plate. At Lissa's disbelieving looks, she glared.

"What? I'm hungry!" On her way back, she met the trio Lissa had seen Rose with the other day. Lissa watched as they talked her anger slowly mounting. After a while, Rose sent a nervous glance towards the table where she sat before turning away and leaving the trio to sit next to Lissa. The black haired boy-Harold-no, Harry. That was it! Rose sighed, bringing Lissa's attention back to her.

"Let it out, Lissa," She said. That sentence alone was enough to open the floodgates.

"Let it out? Let it out! What do you want me to say Rosemarie? Actually, let's talk about how you left me alone there. Let's talk about how you abandoned me and only left a letter to explain it. Let's talk about how you were such a freaking coward and ditched me for your own personal gain. What do you want me say? Huh? It's not fair that your such a selfish-_(The rest of this commentary has been bleeped out to keep this fanfiction rated T. Suffice to say, the rest of this spiel contains a lot of words no one knew Princess Lissa was capable of. Man, she is mad…Let's see how Rose deals with this one. Oh wait! You don't even know my name. Hi, I'm Bob and I will be giving you a play by play version of this section of the fanfiction. Yes, I realize that's a super cliché name but you know what…Grow up and deal with it! God…Kids these days…_*mumbles to self_* Sorry about that, my doctor says I have anger management problems. Oh, will you look at that! We're out of time! See ya, folks. *_vanishes_*)_

Lissa finished her rant breathing heavily. Rose stared at her, shocked by her language. And she wasn't the only one. Adrian's food was falling off his fork but he didn't notice. Even Christian was stunned speechless. Lissa glanced up then blushed. She really had to stop bottling up her problems like this. The last time she did that, it had ended in disaster. She blinked then glanced up at Rose.

"I'm so sorry; I think the darkness is getting to me again." She apologized.

Rose snorted, "You're telling me? But what you said is true. I did abandon you guys without so much a warning. I just couldn't risk you stopping me. I needed to leave, for personal and important reasons."

Lissa glared, "Mind letting the rest of us ordinary people what those reason are."

Rose sighed, "Yes actually, I do. It's personal for a reason. Besides Lissa, when have you ever been ordinary"

Lissa smiled tentatively, "Yeah, I guess. So…are we friends?"

Rose grinned. "Did you really think I'd say no?"

(_Hey, it's me again. Thank god they made up so we could go on with the story. Now on to the real plot._ *grins evilly*_)_

And with that, all hell broke loose. A figure appeared in a flash of white light, laughing manically. With defensive reactions built up over a life time of fighting, everyone sprang into action. The figure looked around crazily before his mad eyes settled on Rose.

"Found you Rosie," he said before setting off into another round of maniacal laughter.

"Dolohov!" Rose hissed through her teeth. The man snarled.

"This is all your fault. You will pay for this!" he aimed and shouted, "Avada Kevadra!"

At the same time, half the students present fired a curse, sending the beam of light fired from Dolohov's wand off course. Rose saw where the beam was heading and flung herself in front of Dimitri and Lissa. One bright green flash of light later, Rose collapsed dead into Dimitri's arms.

* * *

"Rose!" Everyone yelled. Lissa made a desperate grab for Rose and let her magic flow though her. This had to work, it had to. She couldn't imagine a life with Rose, especially after she just got her back. Rose took a deep breath did not stir otherwise. Lissa glanced worriedly at her and up at Harry.

"What's wrong? Why won't the healing work?" She asked frantically. Harry's eyes darkened as he realized what Lissa had done. Glancing back down at Rose, he answered,

"There's nothing wrong, it worked."

"Then why won't she get up?" Lissa asked, shaking Rose's shoulder.

"Among the many properties of the Killing Curse, besides killing of course, is that it is final. When someone attempts to heal a person back from that kind of dead, its pull on the soul is strong enough to give the person a choice. The soul will spend 72 hours in limbo before giving into the pull of the dead."

Lissa glanced up in horror, "You mean…?"

Harry nodded then said, "Your healing magic did its job. The problem is…Rose doesn't want to return. She wants to remain dead."

Dimitri joined in, his voice grim, "And we have seventy-two hours to convince her she's wrong."

* * *

_**8:00 AM-72 Hours to go**_

"This is just great. Rose is stuck in limbo and we have no way to reach her. And this morning everything seemed to be going so well. When this is all over, I just want you to know that I blame you, Dimitri," Adrian ranted. Dimitri looked up from his spot on the couch in surprise.

"Why me?"

"She jumped in front of you, didn't she? If you'd just ducked like the rest of us with functioning brains, we wouldn't have this problem," Adrian said coldly.

"I didn't ask for her to do that. Why do you always believe everything is my fault?"

"Maybe because it is! You're the reason she left in the first place. For once in your life Belikov, you don't know everything," Adrian finished. Dimitri's eyes flared.

"_You_ don't know anything so don't talk about things you can't understand."

"I understand enough to know that you broke her heart because you just didn't care." Dimitri spun around at this comment and took a few rapid steps toward Adrian.

"You think I don't care? I love her dammit. I was trying to save her from me because I was drowning in guilt. I f*cking love her."

"You've got a funny way of showing it," Adrian mumbled to himself.

"Guys! Fighting does nothing. Rose will be dead in three days if we don't do something and you too busy with your infantile spitting contest. This is no time for your childish rivalries. Will you just f-ing get over yourself?" Lissa whisper-yelled from her corner behind the books. The separation was clearly taking its toll on her. Already, her eyes were showing a lack of sleep from the night before. Both men looked at each other before nodding in silent agreement. They could be silent for Lissa and Rose's sake. Harry suddenly ran in waving some papers.

"I found a spell that might work!" Immediately he had everyone's attention, "It will let one person enter her subconscious for a period of twenty four hours-no more, no less. Only thing is we have seventy two hours and we can only send in one person at a time. I'll go first and then we'll decide who goes later."

"Why do you go first?" Dimitri said frowning. Finishing the spell, Harry looked up.

"Didn't she tell you? I'm her twin brother!" Harry winked and vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**A/N- Bet you weren't expecting that? Review! Review! Review! Really, pretty please**


	8. Broken

**A/N- Here we go! So this is mainly brother and sister relationship and for those of you who are confused, the next chapter will explain everything!**

* * *

_I'm falling apart_

_I'm barely breathing_

_With a broken heart_

_That's still beating_

…_But I'm holding on_

-Broken by Lifehouse

_**HARRY**_

I fell into a garden. Vines covered every last inch of the towering stone walls surrounding me. Flowers bloomed on every square of soil they could claim, their growth fostered by the crumbling foundations of a fountain. I let out a laugh, it seemed that Rose had gotten her wish after all, a garden of her very own. She'd figured that nature was something constant, something that would never leave her. I still remembered when she had made it, such a long time ago. We were both so young yet already sick of the world. Our connection had sparked, not just through our twinship, but our experience. At eleven, I was jaded, bitter from my time with the Dursleys while Rose was tired of being left behind.

"_Just find platform nine-and-three-quarters," Hagrid had told me with a pat on the back. Now ten minutes later and I was still no closer to finding this magical train to my freedom…and my family, my twin would be there. Someone tapped me on the back. A girl, slightly taller than me, stared at me, one side of her mouth quirked up into a half-smile._

"_You too, huh? They should really make this ticket with instructions. How else to they expect the rest of us poor non-detectives to figure it out."_

_I grinned. "Eh, I guess we find another wizard who knows what the heck he's doing? I'm Harry, Harry Potter. Who are you?"_

_She smirked, "Your twin. I think we'll get along just fine."_

We were so happy back then, so in love with the idea that magic would change everything for the better. Oh, how the mighty fall. Hogwarts gave us something to fight for, a reason to enjoy life but it also reminded us of everything we would never have. A normal life, even for a wizard, had become an unreachable goal.

Tucked away in a corner, a winding path led out of the garden. It was lined with roses and carpeted with rosemary, Rose's subtle claim on the garden of her dreams. This had to be the way to her.

As I walked, I reflected on my argument to convince Rose to return. I couldn't give up hope, but something deep inside me knew it was a lost cause. Only one person could make her and there was no guarantee that she'd listen. Dimitri was the one for Rose, there was no doubt about that. I saw their love in her mind when we had used their twin bond to communicate telepathically. Still, Dimitri had played Rose's biggest fears against her whether he knew it or not. She had confessed to me once that she was terrified of me leaving because everyone she had loved till that point had left.

"_Rose? Are you awake?" I prodded her stomach until her eyes fluttered open._

"_I am now," she grumbled, "What do you want?"_

"_I just-I mean-How did you know?"_

"_Know what? It's 2 am, I don't have time for games Harry."_

"_That the mirror was so bad. That I had to stay away or it would draw me in."_

_She sighed and glanced at me, uncertainty swirling in her brown eyes. "Because of what I saw."_

_Now I was curious, "What did you see? You never told me."_

"_The mirror showed me myself back at the academy, only this time everyone cared. My "mother" was hugging me, Lissa's parents didn't look at me like their daughter's future guardian and Alberta looked like she was happy I was there. That's when I knew that the mirror showed people their heart's desire. My heart's desire is to be loved, to be wanted for me and not what I can give in return. I realized I'd gladly spent all my time staring at a mirror just to see a false reality to feel that way. And that realization terrified me."_

_I smiled sadly, "We're a messed up pair, aren't we?"_

That was the first time Rose trusted me with anything. Regardless, it took me over a year to convince that I wasn't going anywhere without her. Then third year rolled around and the two of us hit what Rose called our "hottie spurts." I shot up a foot and lost the knobby knees; my messy hair and dorky glasses suddenly became hot. Rose grew elsewhere, if you catch my drift and gained full control over her metamorphogus abilities…and she fell in love with Cedric Diggory.

Every downward spiral starts with an innocence lost. For Rose, it was Cedric's death. For the first time, she had to face very real possibility of loss in this war. Rose dealt with it the best way she knew, she ran from her fear. She closed herself off and refused to form anymore lasting bonds…until Dimitri.

He swept into her life with a bang, an entourage of fireworks following his every move. Once again, Rose ran from her feelings with Mason. Then he died and Rose dropped further into a pit of despair that only Dimitri could pull her out of. And so he did only to drop her back into it with his stupid lie.

_Love fades, mine has_. He had no idea how much those words would affect Rose whose abandonment issues had ruled her life for so long. And again, Rose did what she did best and ran. She used the war to escape her pain. But the war was over now and she was running for it one final time. Death was her final escape. She'd cheated it so long only to willingly hand herself over. Irony at its finest.

Something stirred in my head, Rose was near. I rounded the bend and there she was. She wore an elegant blue dress, torn and muddied from ground she was sitting on. _Rose_,I mentally called out to her. She turned and I snorted. Even in limbo, Rose had found the time to put on make-up. That girl was insane, but I loved for it.

"What are you doing here, Harry?" Her accusing tone made me flinch.

"You know why, Rose," I said quietly. She shook her head and turned to face me fully.

_You've come to take me back._ Her statement echoed in my head through the mind-link we shared as twins.

_Please, Rose. I need you-you're my twin, dammit I'm not going to sit back and let you do this to yourself_ I begged her.

_You'll be fine Harry. Ginny will help you and Ron and Hermione are still there._

I growled, frustrated. _Yeah, but they're not you! I want _you,_ Rose. Please, please don't do this. _

Then I caught it. The spark of a thought she hadn't wanted me to hear. Rose wasn't going anywhere. Not with me, at least.

_Fine, if that's how you want to be. Keep being a coward because you can't handle the fact that Dimitri might actually be telling the truth. _

_That's not it, Harry. _She tried to reason.

_That _is_ it, Rose! You're upset and betrayed that he did this. You're afraid that he's telling the truth because it means that you'll forgive him. Face it, Rose. You love the man and you're never going to stop. But you're terrified that if he can lie now, he'll up and walk away the next time things get rough. And you know you won't survive that loss. _

She glanced at me sadly. _Fine, I am just a coward. But is saving myself the pain really that bad?_

I sighed._ That's the problem, sister. You're running again. And if I'm being honest, I don't think you ever stopped. Ever since Cedric, you've been afraid of love and the effect it has on you. I'm not delusional enough to think that I can convince you to come. But at least I can make you think about what you're doing. It's time to stop running Rose, and start facing your problems head on. Just…think about what I said okay?_

She gave me a noncommittal nod but I knew I'd planted the seed. She wouldn't be clinging to the idea of death so hard anymore. With one last pleading look, I spun in place and vanished.

* * *

**A/N- Bet you weren't expecting that? Review! Review! Review! Really, pretty please**


	9. Catch Me

**A/N-Please, please, please don't hurt me…*peek out from behind hands* I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever but…my life is plotting murder against me. I've been so busy, I haven't had time to post anything…which is sad considering all these chapters were pre-written. Anyway, I probably shouldn't be asking for this but could you readers please possibly maybe just review? Tell me what you think…I want to know. Honest!**

_But you're so hypnotizing  
You got me laughing while I sing  
You got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
And your love is where I'm falling  
But please don't catch me_

_**Catch Me-Demi Lovato**_

* * *

_**-8:00am (the next day) 48 hours to go-**_

I landed on the carpeted floor of the Gryffindor with a loud thud. The vamps' gazes snapped towards me before flying back to Rose's prone form sleeping on the couch. One glance told them all they needed to know-I had failed.

"What happened?" the dark haired boy asked. I sighed.

"Eddie right? I tried but Rose doesn't want to live. She's running," I replied. His eyebrows crinkled.

"What's she running from?" Dimitri stepped forward, his face twisted in confusion. I stared at him for a second before answering.

"The truth." Now everybody was staring at me. Great. I shook my head.

"We need to decide who goes next and, before you offer Dimitri, the answer is no. You are a last resort. There is no guarantee that she won't just run for cover the moment she sees you so someone else needs to go. Any offers?" I asked.

Another dark-haired boy stepped forward. I recognized him from Rose's thoughts, Christian Oreza-the pyro.

"I'll go," he said. I frowned. I knew that Rose thought of him with grudging admiration but the two of them were never really close.

"Why you? You and Rose don't even _like_ each other." Surprisingly, the challenger wasn't me. Adrian stared at Christian with obvious bewilderment. Christian sighed.

"Cause I know what she's going through. The same thing happened to me when she and Lissa returned from their 'vacation.' Rose lied to make me think that Lissa didn't love me and it hurt. Then when Lissa started making out with Aaron, Rose told me that she lied. Trust me when I say that I know how she's feeling right now."

I acquiesced. With a flick of my wand Christian was gone. Well, his mind was at least. His body slumped back into Lissa's unsteady arms and then slid to the floor…hard. _Ouch_. That was going to hurt in the morning. I turned back to everyone else.

"Damn, I really hope this works because I do not want to have to send that idiot in," I said pointing to Dimitri.

* * *

**CHRISTIAN**

I found her counting the petals of the lily in her hand, the rest of the garden long since forgotten.

Loves me.

Loves me not.

Loves me.

Loves me not.

Loves me.

She groaned in frustration as the last petal fluttered to the ground and tossed the stem onto the stones behind. Glancing at them, I noticed the other petals and stems littering the path. Obviously, Rose had been at this for a while. I stepped forward.

"I'm sure if you try again, you'll find a flower that tells you want you want to hear."

She jumped up and spun, eyes frantically identifying me before recognition set in and her body slumped back from its attack stance.

"I've tried. They all keep ending on the same thing," she said with a wry smile. I laughed.

"It sounds to me like your subconscious is trying to tell you something."

"In that case, I'm not listening," she stated defiantly before turning to me. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to sympathize and tell you how messed up your choice is. But first, what is up with you and Harry being twins? How does that even work?" Rose snickered.

"You realize you're on a time limit right? Twenty-four hours and then you'll poof out of here."

I nodded but shrugged, "I get that but what can I do in twenty-four hours that I can't do in one. So…spill the beans before I make you!"

She smirked. "Like you could. But I get what you mean. It's complicated really, our twinship I mean," She looked pensively out over the landscape before continuing, "You know how a Moroi and human make Dhamphirs. Well, apparently the same thing happens with wizards and Moroi. Long story short, my mom and Janine Hathaway were a product of a Moroi and a human. Both Dhamphirs but only Lily had magic. Then when she married a wizard, she had twins. The genetic probability of getting a magical Dhamphir is one-half with that combination. A half-wizard half-dhamphir plus a full wizard, you know. Do the Punnet Square math. So then you have me and Harry, twins but completely different species. Then when our parents were murdered, Harry went to go live with the Dursleys, my mom's second cousins. I was a dhamphir so I had to go to Janine Hathaway so I'm not really her daughter. Is this making any sense?"

My head was reeling as I racked my brains for a snappy retort, "I still can't believe you even know what a Punnet Square is, let alone how to use it."

Rose gently shoved me, "That's already more knowledge than you'll ever gain so I'm good. But seriously, why are you here? I thought they'd send someone like Adrian or Lissa."

I sighed, "I volunteered. Don't give me that look! I just…thought you'd want to talk to someone who gets how you feel."

She giggled, "Right, the whole Lissa-Aaron fiasco. By the way, I'm sorry about that."

Now it was my turn to laugh, "Don't worry, I forgave you a long time ago. Got other stuff to hold a grudge for. But seriously, I'm here to talk, mainly about the choice you're making. I get it; you're scared that Dimitri will leave you behind. I'm not going to push that issue because I know only one person can fix it. However, I will remind you of what you're leaving behind. Do you have any idea how torn up Lissa is? She finally got her best friend back just to find out that the said friend is suicidal!"

Rose glanced at her feet, uncomfortable. "She'll get over it. She has you and Dimitri to help."

I snorted. She really didn't want to face the truth if she believed that lie.

"Didn't you ever check in on her during your absence? It took the combined efforts of me, Adrian, Dimitri and Eddie just to get her functioning after she lost you the first time. She was your best friend and you were hers. You promised never to leave her again and you did. I won't let her go through that a second time."

Rose paused, "It wasn't a vacation for me either Christian. In case you forgot, I was fighting to save the whole damn world while trying to stay alive."

I groaned. This conversation wasn't going anywhere. "I get that it wasn't easy. I get that it still isn't a cakewalk. Honestly, your life sucks Rose. I get that too. But this- this is not the answer. Please just come back. Try a little harder. Don't give up. Not like this"

She shook her head. "I'm tired of trying-tired of pretending that everything's okay when it's not…When it's never going to be okay. I'm done with pretending…done with giving my life up for something else. Is it so wrong to want to do something for myself for once?"

I sighed again. I wasn't convincing her-not in this life time. Then it hit me. How the hell did I get out of here? I turned to Rose.

"You can't. Non-wizards can't apparate. That's actually why only your subconscious got sent in. With Harry, his entire body would have disappeared and reappeared in my limbo. With you, only your brain got sent in. The spell is on a timer so it will pull you out after twenty-four hours but you can't leave of your own volition. On the other hand, you have two hours left. We can't check out the constellations in the stars," she cut me off.

I frowned, "Two hours? I've only been here for thirty minutes."

She waved her hand. "Time travels faster here. So how about them constellations?"

So I agreed. There was nothing more I could do to persuade Rose to make the right decision. Nothing more I could say and so I gave up. It was all up to Dimitri now. I just hoped to hell he didn't screw up.

* * *

**A/N- Soooo…What did ya think? I promise Dimitri will be in the next chapter. Plus, a little more history on Rose and her shady past. Review and enjoy!**


	10. Hallelujah

**A/N- Well**_**, **_**this is it. It's finally over. This the last chapter of my story. Thank you all for reading it. I really appreciate it. I have a couple outtakes I could post later on and I haven't decided if they'll go back to court. Going on gut feeling right now. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

_I've seen your flag on the marble arch_

_Love is not a victory march_

_It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

**Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright**

Christian's eyes fluttered open to a magnificent view of the ceiling. A slight shift told him that he was lying on the couch, another told him he was swaddled in blankets. He sat up and groaned as his momentary head-rush faded into a pounding headache.

"Here." A hand thrust a glass of water and two pills in front of his face. He took them gratefully and glanced up into somber face of Harry Potter. Christian didn't need to say it; Harry knew that Rose hadn't listened.

"The headache's normal. It should wear off in an hour," Harry commented as he sat down next to Christian. The two of them stared at the fire for one silent moment, the inevitable choice hanging over their heads.

"We have to send him in, don't we?" Christian asked. There was no need to clarify who the he was. Harry sighed.

"She won't listen to anyone else at this point. Rose is very good at running from her problems instead of facing them. The only way to for her to deal with them is if we offer her no other alternative," He said. Christian blinked.

"She is pretty stubborn. But Dimitri did once before; he told her he didn't love her after Lissa was kidnapped and Rose recovered from that with no problem. What makes this time so different?" He asked. Harry sighed once more and glanced at Christian.

"In order to understand that, you need to know a couple of things about Rose. Almost everyone she loves has left her in one way or another. Our parents, her aunt, the list goes on. I guess her problem really started in third year."

Christian furrowed his brow. "What happened in third year?" He asked.

"She fell in love with Cedric Diggory. They met a masquerade ball and got together the next day. Then they both got picked for the Triwizard Tournament and had to compete against each other. Cedric died in the last task and Rose has blamed herself ever since. After his death she withdrew into herself, stopped being the light easygoing girl she was before. She refused to date anybody for more than a week because she was scared of forming an emotional attachment to them"

Christian's eyes lit up in recognition. "Hey I remember that year. That was when Rose really started her whole boy-crazy, party hard, and get drunk lifestyle."

Harry smiled sadly. "Cedric's death triggered her emotional detatchment. Rose didn't recover from that until Dimitri came along. Then Mason died and Rose spiraled back down into her depression. Dimitri managed to give her a lifeline but fell back into her pit of despair when he left. Now he's the only thing that can save her from herself."

Christian glanced at Rose's prone body. "I just hope he succeeds," He said.

* * *

Dimitri brushed aside the curtain of ferns enshrouding the doorway and stepped through, past the garden walls. A cursory glance told him all he needed to know, Rose wasn't there. He took a step backward, snapping the branches under his feet.

"I wondered when they'd send you."

Dimitri spun around. There in front of him leaning on the wall was his Roza. She looked magnificent, the scars and sleep deprivation all but invisible in this dimension. The weariness, the exhaustion remained, serving as a brutal reminder to Dimitri of the havoc he had wrecked upon his angel.

Rose frowned as Dimitri completed his assessment. Why didn't he say anything? She was so tired of this place, tired of listening to what she was leaving behind. She wasn't leaving anything behind. They had all left her behind, standing shell-shocked as she refused to play catch up. She clung to the peaceful dark oblivion of death, remembering the calm worth dying for. No more heartache, no more pain. She glanced back at Dimitri.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" She sniped, anxious to get this encounter over with.

Dimitri locked eyes with Rose. His heart thudded painfully as he took note of the heartbreak hidden in her guarded eyes.

"Roza," He breathed, accentuating each syllable.

Something twanged in Rose's chest as memories fought to overwhelm her. Another time, another place when she was sure of the love he offered. Before everything fell apart in her fragile world and she was left staring at the pieces. She squashed down the burgeoning attraction, channeling her anger instead.

"Don't call me that. You lost that right when you left," She spit out, her eyes flashing furiously.

"_Rose_. Can we please just talk civilly? At least listen to what I have to say," He implored.

"Fine. Say what you need to say," Rose said, her tone clipped. Dimitri winced at her harsh tone before steeling himself for his next words.

"I lied. I know you don't believe me. I know you may never believe me, but I just want you to know that I lied. I do love you, I never stopped. I lied to protect you, to keep you away from me. I was drowning in guilt and wanted to save you from having to deal with that when you had dreams and goals that loving me would hinder. It may not seem like it but I believed I was doing it for your own good," He stated lowly.

Rose snorted. "Where'd you get that? The top twenty-five overused excuses in the world? You had no right to make that kind of decision for me, Dimitri. No right at all."

"I understand. But if not for me, at least return for Lissa. Think about what your death will do to her," He pleaded. The flash in Rose's eyes alerted him to his mistake.

"Oh yes. God forbid Princess Valissa be forced to experience pain. After all, she's your reason to exist now, isn't she?" Her biting tone covered up her inner heartache. Why did Lissa always come first? Would she always have to sacrifice her happiness for Lissa.

"I said I was sorry. I can't change the things I said and I am sorry for that-"

Rose cut Dimitri off with a glare. "Sorry doesn't make it better! Your apologies won't bring me back those months of pain. They won't mend the nights I cried myself to sleep wishing you were there to hold. They won't mend the aching hole in my heart!"

Dimitri reached out and touched her cheek, capturing her eyes with his. "Roza…"

Rose yanked away, snapping out of her trance. She wouldn't let herself do this again. She glared.

"R-O-S-E! Rose! My name is Rose. Do you need me to write that on your damn forehead for you to get it?"

Dimitri grabbed her wrist. His eyes flared with unspoken restraint and anger.

"Stop that. It's time for you to face your problems instead of running away. Stop acting like a child and grow up! I made a mistake. I'm not perfect nor did I ever claimed to be but at least I admitted my mistake. Why can't you just believe me?" He asked.

Rose shook her head, her temper subdued. "Because it's not that easy. It never is, Dimitri. You left once, how do I know you won't up and leave the next time things get tough?" She retorted.

Dimitri looked at her incredulously. "That's what you're afraid of? That I'll leave you again?"

Rose nodded and smiled sadly. "I'm not delusional enough to think that I'll survive it if you leave a second time. I barely lived through the first time," she commented.

Dimitri felt a sharp pain in his chest once more. How could he have done this to her? His resolve solidified. This was his mess and he would fix it. He gripped her face both hands.

"I will never leave you-I can't. I became practically comatose the first week after you left. Adrian had to slap some sense into me for me to return to guarding."

Rose snorted, "Adrian?"

Dimitri laughed as well. "He basically stormed into the room, drunk naturally, and told me he had had enough of my pity-fest. I believe he told me to get off my ass and live my damn life because I had dug my own grave. He said that you didn't leave so that I could spend all my days wallowing in my misery."

Rose giggled. "That sounds like him. Was he high as well?"

Dimitri shook his head. "He said something about a promise when I asked him."

Rose gazed into the distance. "So he did keep it," she mused to herself. She wondered why. After all, she had broken her end of the deal so there was no reason for him to keep his.

Dimitri sighed. "So will you come back? Please, for me. I can't survive without you."

Rose gave him a watery smile. "I don't think I really have a choice here. Just promise never to leave me 'for my own good' again," she told him.

Dimitri grinned. "I don't think I could. Before I met you, I had resigned myself to a solo life and emotionless routine. I had been content living in the dark until you flipped the switch. Then you left and the lights went out again. Nothing changed for me, but I wasn't the same. You showed that life was worth living when I had something worth living for. You've changed me Roza, definitely for the better."

Rose smiled. "And you changed me. Harry was right, I've been running for far too long. And if I'm being honest, I've been running since the night Cedric was killed. I stopped forming emotional attachments so that the loss didn't hurt me as much. You changed that."

They sat in silence for a while. Then Rose turned to Dimitri.

"Hey Dimitri. Guess what?" She asked. Dimitri raised one eyebrow.

"What?" He asked. Rose leaned into his shoulder.

"I love you."

Dimitri smiled, "Hey Rose, guess what?"

"What?"

"I love you too."

Dimitri leaned forward to capture her lips with his own. Rose responded with equal fervor, pausing briefly for air before diving back into his scent. Their tender touches grew more passionate, more intimate as their coats joined the petals carpeting the floor. He pushed her through the stone archway and onto the soft grass beyond. Their shirts joined the coat on the floor, the remainder of their clothes followed soon after. Soon, the couple joined their clothes on the downy grass, content in each other's arms.

The sun colored the grass a unique shade purple as it rose, signaling the end of the seventy-two hour time limit. The light illuminated the pair of lovers asleep in their joint embrace, happy for the first time in an extremely long time. They were far from okay, still broken inside, uncertain of their future. Still, through each other, their scars were beginning to heal.

They would stitch these wounds together.

* * *

**Epilogue-One week later**

"Ready to go?" Lissa adjusted the strap of her backpack before gripping the portkey set to take them back home. It was agreed that Harry would accompany the vampires back to explain the wizarding world and provide proof. Rose would stay behind to restore stability to the wizarding world. Rose gave her a hug and a small smile before stepping back into Dimitri's arms. Harry gave Rose a wave before grabbing hold of the portkey. A bright flash later, the vampires, with the exeption of Dimitri, were gone. Rose turned to Dimitri.

"You sure you don't want to go with them?" She asked. Dimitri smiled.

"Why would I? I have everything I need right here," he replied leaning down for a kiss. Loving Rose was a long tiring journey but he felt every step was worth the pain.

**I once said that life had given me nothing, that I had to find my own lemons but now I know that's not true. Life gave me everything I needed, I just had to find it on my own. In the middle of my dream garden, I found my lemon tree in Dimitri. That garden is long gone, nothing but a distant memory. Yet, I remain a survivor the only remainder of the garden from my past. It gives me hope. It lets me believe that regardless of the challenges, I have the strength to remain the **_**Last Rose Standing.**_


End file.
